This invention is in the field of hair care and in particular devices for use when drying hair to provide body in a finished hair style.
xe2x80x9cBodyxe2x80x9d is a term used in hair styling to describe the fullness and spring of a person""s hair. Hair that has no body is commonly referred to as being xe2x80x9cflatxe2x80x9d as it lays close to the scalp, while hair with body springs away from the scalp.
Hair that dries against the scalp tends to remain flat after it dries. Conventionally body is provided by wrapping the hair around a plurality of rollers while it dries. The rollers hold the hair away from the scalp, so that when the rollers are removed, the hair is xe2x80x9cspringyxe2x80x9d. The hair may then be further styled, curled, and so forth.
Many different types of rollers are available, in various diameters, and the rollers may be clipped in some cases, or are maintained by friction or other means. This rolling involves locating the free ends of a portion of the hair, wrapping the ends around the roller, and rotating the roller to accumulate the hair on the roller right down to the root portion adjacent to the scalp. The roller essentially rests on the scalp and holds the hair off the scalp, and provides body.
The rolling process is time consuming, and must be done every day by people with longer hair, such as is most common with people of the female gender.
It is the object of the present invention to provide a device for holding hair off the scalp while it dries, thereby providing body to the hair, the device being much quicker to put in place than conventional devices.
It is a further object of the invention to provide such a device that is a clip, similar to conventional flat bar clips, that is bent such that when clipped on a root portion of hair adjacent to the scalp, the clip does not fall over as is the case with conventional clips.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a method of providing body while drying hair that is quicker to use
The invention provides, in one aspect, a clip for hair comprising: a pair of bars pivotally attached to each other at pivot ends thereof about an axis, with opposing inner surfaces of the bars closely adjacent or bearing against each other along a substantial length thereof when in a closed position, the bars bent such that a distal portion of the bars forms an angle with a proximate portion of the bars, the proximate portion adjacent the pivot ends of the bars; a lever arm extending from each pivot end beyond the axis and away from each other when in the closed position, the lever arms biased into the closed position and movable towards each other against a bias force to an open position wherein the bars are separated; wherein the angle is sufficient to maintain the inner surfaces of the bars in a substantially upright orientation with respect to a scalp when grasping hair between the inner surfaces adjacent to roots of the hair.
The invention provides, in a second aspect, a method of providing body while drying hair, the method comprising gathering and holding a portion of wet hair adjacent to roots thereof in a clip adjacent to a scalp and maintaining the portion of hair substantially upright with respect to the scalp while the hair dries.
The invention provides, in a third aspect, a clip for hair comprising a pair of bars pivotally attached to each other at pivot ends thereof about an axis, with opposing inner surfaces of the bars closely adjacent or bearing against each other along a substantial length thereof when in a closed position; a bias force acting to maintain the bars in the closed position, the bars movable against the bias force to an open position wherein the bars are separated to allow a portion of hair to be positioned between them; means to maintain the inner surfaces of the bars in a substantially upright orientation with respect to a scalp when grasping hair between the inner surfaces adjacent to roots of the hair.
Instead of falling over, as would a conventional clip, the disclosed clip of the invention instead stands up on edge supported by distal and proximate portions forming an angle with each other. The hair is thus maintained in an upright orientation, off the scalp, so that it dries with body.
Alternatively the lever arms which are used to open the clip could be extended sufficiently to maintain the clip upright. It is contemplated that the bent bars would be preferred in most cases, since the extended lever arms would act only to support the clip upright, while the bent bars perform that function ands also grasp the hair, therefore providing a larger function for a given amount of material.
The method disclosed is much quicker than conventional roller methods, as the work is done at the root end of the hair, adjacent to the scalp. Conventional body providing methods require that the free ends of a suitable portion of hair be located and wrapped around the roller, and the roller then must be rotated to gather the distal, intermediate and root portions of the hair onto the roller for drying. In some cases the roller must then additionally be clipped into place.
In the disclosed method, only the root portion of the hair next to the scalp must be addressed, with the bent clips being inserted into the hair near the scalp in an open position, then released to grasp the hair and hold it off the scalp. It is not critical that every hair be grasped, as the adjacent upright portions of hair that are grasped act to prevent free hairs from laying against the scalp. Similarly, distal and intermediate portions of hair may be caught in the clip without significantly interfering with the method.
It can be seen that the method is quicker to practice than conventional roller methods.